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Recent rainfall improves drought conditions in WNC

ASHEVILLE - Drought conditions have improved in Asheville and several Western North Carolina counties after a rain event that brought nearly 5 inches to the Asheville Regional Airport over a course of 10 days.

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ASHEVILLE - Drought conditions have improved in Asheville and several Western North Carolina counties after a rain event that brought nearly 5 inches to the Asheville Regional Airport over a course of 10 days.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released an update Thursday on current conditions in the state with most WNC counties improving by one class. The updated map shows that only Clay County remained in a severe drought while six counties were considered to be in a moderate drought and five counties were considered abnormally dry in the western portion of the state.

Last week the seven farthest western counties were considered to be in a severe drought, according to the drought monitor. A portion of Buncombe County was also considered in a moderate drought with a total of 35 counties across the state listed in this category.

Within Buncombe County, the western area of the county is experiencing some abnormally dry conditions, the least severe category, but the remainder of the county was not considered to be in a drought of any kind, according to the drought monitor map.

The National Weather Service recorded 7.58 inches of rainfall from April 1-26, which is 4.58 inches above normal for the month. Within the past week and half, 4.5 inches have been recorded at the Asheville Regional Airport.

The city's regional airport recorded 1.98 inches of rain on April 22, a record-setting amount of rainfall within a 24-hour period for that date, according to the NWS. The previous record for April 22 had been 1.07 inches of rainfall set in 1983.

For the year, the Asheville Regional Airport has observed an above normal amount of rainfall with 15.92 inches recorded, according to the NWS. The normal value is 14.26 inches.

The recent rainfall brought a mix of results for Buncombe County farmers, according to Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Director Steve Duckett.

"(The rain) has been a help, but we have (had) some areas where there has been erosion damage and there has been moisture runoff too quickly" from heavy rain falling within a short amount of time, he said.

For crop planting, soil moisture has been mostly adequate though, he added.

In Madison County, the eastern two-thirds of the county were no longer in a drought Thursday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Additionally, Mitchell, Yancey and Avery counties are experiencing no drought conditions.

Across the Southeast, a slow-moving storm system generated 2 to 8 inches of rain from northern portions of Alabama and Georgia into the Carolinas and Virginia, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Several areas experienced a one to two category reduction in drought.

Drought first emerged in March and intensified through the spring, summer and fall. Most of the region received half the usual rainfall during the past six months, according to data from the National Weather Service.

Although the past week brought relief to several western counties, drought conditions will linger into the upcoming months and could potentially get worse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Duckett said that although recent rainfall has helped the area, farmers still don't know what to expect going forward.

"We are ahead for the year right now, but certainly not out of the woods. If we enter a dry pattern again it could really give us problems going forward," he said.

Currently, the U.S. Drought Monitor predicts the next 90 days to bring drier and hotter conditions, which would be a problem. But there could be a chance for an above or equal chance for a wetter season.

"Hopefully we will continue to get near average rainfall to make things go along more normally," Duckett said.

Going into the weekend, the NWS predicted that the Asheville area could experience a 30 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms Saturday and Sunday, according Friday's forecast prediction.